where’s God?
On the homepage of a website I discovered recently, all the global natural disasters for the current year are graphically presented on a world map. Icons reveal landslides, earthquakes, wildfires, tornadoes, floods, erupting volcanoes, windstorms, and more. It’s sobering to see the number of natural disasters that affect people around the globe!
out of season
One year, spring in the US arrived with unseasonably balmy temperatures that broke records and elevated spirits. But the mid-80 temps (30 C) came with a price. Soon a cold snap hit, freezing all the blossoms. The budding flowers withered. Fruit farms were devastated. Food prices rose substantially.
unlikely gifts
The 166 female inmates at Davao City Jail in Mindanao didn’t have much. But as they saw it, others had even less. Typhoon Pablo had just swept over the southern Philippines, killing more than 1,000 human beings, splintering houses, annihilating crops, and leaving nearly a million people homeless.
October 29, 2012
What words would you share to encourage someone affected by a natural disaster?
three evils
On January 12, 2010, Haiti was hit by a magnitude 7.0 earthquake that leveled an estimated 250,000 homes and 30,000 buildings, killing nearly 300,000 people. A cholera outbreak a few months later claimed thousands more lives.
Philosophers have a name for this kind of devastation. They call it natural evil. With its earthquakes, famines, diseases, and afflictions, the world can…
hit and run
One evening, just before midnight, an automobile slammed into the side of our house. I woke up to what sounded like an explosion, but then I heard the muffled noise of a car radio and the squealing of tires as the driver fled the scene.
Satan tried to dismantle Job’s relationship with God (Job 1:9) by afflicting him with a…
February 6, 2012
How aware are you of the brutal winter causing difficulties and deaths in Europe? How are you reaching out to help those who have been affected by the freezing conditions?
safe passage
I was shocked to learn that a registered sex offender lives in our neighborhood. According to public records, my neighbor was convicted on child pornography charges. Although I’ve never met the man, I hope he’s changed his ways and no longer poses a threat to children. Still, I’ve experienced the urge to permanently quarantine my kids.
The world is full…
May 16, 2011
Natural disasters like flooding, earthquakes, tornados, tsunamis, hurricanes, drought, and forest fires continue to rock the lives of people around the world. What's your understanding of why God allows these things to occur?
when God arrives
Last January, as Haiti reeled from a crushing earthquake, one tragic account told of a mother who had three daughters between the ages of four and nine. She had been cooking for her girls when the earthquake hit. Severely injured, the mom could not move or care for her children. When help arrived, the young girls had gone two days…
holding it together
From autumn of 2008 through April 2009, the country of South Africa was run by temporary or acting officials. When President Thabo Mbeki quit, after being accused of interfering in a court case, an acting president was elected along with an acting deputy. So the president and deputy were temporary, as well as the national police commissioner, national prosecutor, port…
praying for haiti
The news of the devastation caused by the magnitude-7.0 earthquake in Haiti has caused me to call out to God in prayer. I grieve the loss of life and the painful injuries sustained by so many people. As I've been praying for all the people affected, one young woman named Cathy—a friend our family who is teaching in Port-au-Prince—has been…
a mighty fortress
You might know of Martin Luther as the father of the Reformation and that he translated the whole Bible into German. But what is less known is that Luther was also a composer of 37 hymns. His best-known hymn, “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God,” is also called “The Battle Hymn of the Reformation.” There are at least 70 different…
a long healing
In September of last year, natural disaster hit the Gulf Coast in the US yet again. Hurricane Ike ripped across Galveston Island and into Houston, Texas, the fourth-largest city in the nation. One survivor, Bobby Anderson, recounted the horrific experience of holding on to a building while the storm lashed away at him. To his horror, he watched as a…
